In mere 3 weeks, Adolescence has joined the top 10 most-watched English-language shows ever on Netflix

"Adolescence" Special Screening - Arrivals - Source: Getty
"Adolescence" Special Screening - Arrivals - Source: Getty

The ride that Adolescence shows no signs of slowing down. It is setting and breaking its own records as the top-streamed show from the UK. But now, it has been added to the global list of the top 10 most popular shows of all time (English-language).

It has merely been 3 weeks since the one-shot, four-episode long miniseries premiered on Netflix on March 13, 2025. Since then it has continued to garner millions of views, top the charts, and receive critical acclaim.


Adolescence on Netflix's most-watched list of all time

Adolescence on the Top 10 most popular shows / Source: Tudum by Netflix
Adolescence on the Top 10 most popular shows / Source: Tudum by Netflix

The British limited series Adolescence has entered the list of the Top 10 most popular shows of all time on Netflix with 96.7 million views and increasing. Following a 13-year-old boy, Jamie Miller (played by Owen Cooper) who commits an extremely violent crime against a classmate Katie Leonard, the show touches on themes that everyone was aware of but nobody was talking about.

Adolescence touches on the repercussions of a society where young boys are brought up with the idea that they are better than the opposite gender. It might not always be parents or teachers instilling this idea into the minds of young boys, rather, the digital world of social media, left unguarded by guardians, plays a significant role in normalizing this idea of misogyny.

This raw and slow look at the problems in society has struck a chord with its audience. In a world where teenagers live their entire lives online, without their parents having any idea about the extent of it, Adolescence sparks a conversation without any shock values or big reveals.

Stephen Graham, Adolescence's co-creator, who plays Jamie's father, Eddie, in conversation with Netflix talks about how he was inspired to create this show:

"There was an incident where a young boy (allegedly) stabbed a girl, It shocked me. I was thinking, ‘What’s going on? What’s happening in society where a boy stabs a girl to death? What’s the inciting incident here?’ And then it happened again, and it happened again, and it happened again. I really just wanted to shine a light on it, and ask, ‘Why is this happening today? What’s going on? How have we come to this?"

It seems as if the show's creators have successfully achieved their mission to spark a conversation among its viewers, especially parents and teachers. To keep the effort going, Netflix has offered this limited series free to watch for every secondary school in all of United Kingdom.

The show has 30.4 million views this week alone and has successfully managed to push out Shonda Rhimes' Bridgerton Season 2 with its 93.8 million views out of the list.

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Edited by Sarah Nazamuddin Harniswala
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